MAY 2007
We prepare
a monthly summary of gun incidents, focussing on those that raise key
issues about the nature of gun crime and the adequacy of gun legislation. Items that
have been amended or added to the list since the
Summary was written are marked (*).
ENGLAND
Grantham Today,
31 May 2007
In addition to the incident
in Long Bennington (see below), Lincolnshire police have had to
deal with a number of incidents involving BB
guns. A BB gun was seized in Grantham after a
member of the public reported seeing something with what they thought
was a long-barrelled shotgun. Two days later, also in Grantham,
the windscreen of a car was struck by a BB pellet, and later a woman
walking in the same street was hit in the ribcage by a BB pellet which
left a mark on her skin.
BBC,
31 May 2007 *
A civilian police support
worker has been shot during a Thames Valley Police "firearms awareness
training session" at Kidlington, Oxfordshire. The man was
in a serious but stable condition in hospital. The incident will
be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
The IPCC will examine how a Glock 9 mm pistol came to have a live round,
why the safety catch was not on, and whether the officer checked the
status of the gun before the lesson (Times, 1 June 2007).
The Crown Prosecution Service has said that it will not be bringing any
charges, but the IPCC has written to Thames Valley Police to ask for
their proposals, if any, on disciplinary action and the The Health and
Safety Executive is continuing a separate inquiry (BBC, 3 January
2008).
BBC,
31 May 2007
John McSally has been
convicted of murder and attempted murder and has been ordered to serve a
minimum of 35 years. McSally was the hitman who gunned down two
men in Basford, Nottingham in 2004 (see
Incidents). One of the men was
shot dead outside a pub in February, the other victim was shot on his
driveway in May but survived. Another man was cleared of murder,
and a woman was also cleared of perverting the course of justice.
BBC,
31 May 2007
Police officers were called
to Long Bennington, Lincolnshire, after a woman reported seeing a
young man run past her with what she thought was a firearm. Two
youths, 14 and 16, were found with BB guns
which were seized. The two teenagers were given a warning.
Another BB gun had been seized in a similar incident a few days earlier.
Yorkshire Evening Post,
30 May 2007
British Transport Police are
to crackdown on one of the worst areas for missile-throwing on the
railways in the north-east region. Among recent incidents at
Neville Hill, at Osmondthorpe in Leeds, a train was shot at with an
airgun.
Reading Evening Post,
30 May 2007
Four masked raiders held bar
staff at gunpoint and knifepoint while they robbed the takings of a pub
in Caversham. Two of the men were armed with guns and two
had knives. A gun was held to the face of one staff member and the
staff were forced to go into the office. The raid bears
similarities to an armed robbery at another pub at Playhatch, also in
the Reading area, earlier in the month (see below), and the police
believe the two are linked.
Milton Keynes Citizen,
30 May 2007
Police were called to
reports that men armed with a gun were trying to attack the occupants of
a house in Grange Farm. Three men have been arrested
East London Advertiser,
30 May 2007
Baris Boran has been jailed
for seven years. He had brandished a loaded Browning handgun when
he tried to escape after police had stopped a car in Stamford Hill,
north London, in July 2006. Boran admitted four charges including
possessing a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence,
possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing a loaded firearm in a
public place
East Anglian Daily Times,
30 May 2007
An robber armed with a
handgun threatened two female members of staff and a female customer at
a bookmakers in Haverhill, Suffolk. Cash was handed over by
staff. The police are linking the robbery to previous armed
robberies of bookmakers in Haverhill as well as a series of other armed
robberies across the country.
BBC,
30 May 2007
A car clamper, George
McDicken, admitted making three abusive phone calls to a police station
in Keighley, in one of which he threatened to shoot an police
officer involved in bringing an Asbo against him because of his clamping
activities. He was given a 12-month conditional discharge.
BBC,
30 May 2007
Seven masked men, one armed
with a gun, robbed a woman and her son in their home in Hulme,
Manchester. The gang demanded the woman's car keys before stealing
the vehicle which was parked outside. A stereo system was also
taken by one of the men.
BBC,
30 May 2007
Nottinghamshire police have
urged people living in Mansfield and Ashfield to help them
reduce the number of incidents involving air
weapons. There were 33 reported offences in the area
between 1 January and 2 May. They have asked people to report
anyone seen misusing them, adding that "Some people think air weapons
are toys, but that is far from the truth".
Oxford Mail,
29 May 2007
A man who was seen on CCTV
pointing a gun at passers-by as he walked down a street in Oxford
was arrested by armed police on suspicion of possessing a firearm.
Although the weapon turned out to be a toy gun,
a police spokesman said that "firearms are something the police take
extremely seriously and it's not possible to distinguish at a distance
whether or not the weapon is real. We urge people not to take toy guns
into public places". The man was released without charge.
News & Star,
29 May 2007
A councillor in Carlisle is
calling for tighter controls on airguns after windows in Harraby
were smashed with an airgun.
Hundreds of pounds worth of damage have been caused to office windows.
Councillor June Martlew has said that airguns need to be licensed.
"I don't think anyone under the age of 18 should be able to have an
airgun. They should be subject to the same laws as other guns."
East Anglian Daily Times,
29 May 2007
Two men threatened a bar
steward at a social club in Lakenheath, Suffolk, with a firearm
and a wooden stave as he was locking up. The pair made off on foot
after stealing a quantity of cash.
Shropshire Star,
28 May 2007
Armed police were called to
a supermarket in Leominster after witnesses reported seeing a man
waving what appeared to be a handgun. The store had to be
evacuated. A man was arrested but no firearms were found by the
police.
BBC,
28 May 2007 *
A man is recovering in
hospital after being shot in the stomach during an incident involving
two gangs of men in the Clarksfield area of Oldham. A man
has been charged with attempted murder (BBC, 13 June 2007).
This is Lancashire,
27 May 2007
Thomas Beard has been jailed
for five years after police found an air rifle,
ammunition and 66 CS gas cartridges at his caravan at Clayton-le-Dale.
Although it was claimed that the weapon had only been used to shoot
vermin and rabbits, the judge told Beard that the danger was that the
weapons could have gone into wider circulation. The police had
found two air weapons, one of which was the subject of a charge because
it had a muzzle which exceeded the specifications. The cartridges
were for a starting pistol and did not fit the weapon on the site.
BBC,
27 May 2007
A man was hit on the head in
his house on Preston Docks by a suspected burglar who was seen
brandishing a gun. The offender tried to steal cash but left the
house empty-handed.
Evening Chronicle,
26 May 2007
Benito Bado has been given
an indefinite jail sentence following a doorstep gun attack at a house
in Tynemouth in December 2006 (see
Incidents). He tried to lure his
victim outside saying he wanted to settle a dispute between the two men
and then fired a loaded sawn-off shotgun as the other man tried to close
the door. The victim was hit in the calf. Bado was arrested
after fleeing the scene. He was found guilty of wounding with
intent and a firearms offence. He will serve at least four and a
half years before he can be considered for release.
Richmond & Twickenham Times,
25 May 2007
A robber held a silver
revolver to a security guard's throat and demanded a cash box whilst the
guard was delivering money to a bank in Isleworth, west London.
The robber jumped into a getaway car and escaped with thousands of
pounds.
Bury Free Press,
25 May 2007
Andrius Jankauskas was
spotted by an off duty police officer armed with an
air rifle in Thetford, Norfolk.
Armed police responded and had to use CS gas to subdue Jankauskas who
was drunk and aggressive. He pleaded guilty to affray and having a
firearm in a public place and was given and eight-month prison sentence,
suspended for 12 months. He was ordered to do 200 hours' unpaid
work. The weapon will be destroyed.
BBC,
25 May 2007 *
A rail commuter was in a
serious condition after being shot by robbers as he went to the aid of a
security guard at Rayleigh station in Essex. The victim was
shot in the chest with a handgun after intervening. The guard, one
of two, was attacked as she loaded a cash machine. The victim has
regained consciousness in hospital (BBC, 26 May 2007). A
man was being questioned by police in connection with the shooting (Independent,
29 May 2007). Four other arrests have been made in a series of
dawn raids (BBC, 15 May 2008).
This is Cheshire,
24 May 2007
Neville Paul, 18, was found
guilty of attempted murder and possession of a section 1 firearm
following the attempted murder of a 17-year-old boy who was shot in a
park in Stretford in December 2006 (see
Incidents). Three others, two
aged 16 and one aged 15, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause actual
bodily harm. The victim has subsequently recovered after being
shot three times.
Mail,
24 May 2007
A group from Moss Side,
Manchester, calling themselves the Fallowfield Mandem posed in photos
with guns they used to intimidate and threaten kidnap victims. One
victim was hit in the back with a bullet after trying to escape in one
incident in February 2006. Twins Marvin and Michael Berkeley were
jailed over two firearms offences and several other offences and were
given an indeterminate sentence and two years and four months in jail,
respectively. Kane Snowdon and Marcus Smith were also given
indeterminate sentences, and Tyrone Patrick was sentenced to seven
years. All had pleaded guilty to offences including kidnap,
conspiracy to rob and assisting an offender. Lee Dilnutt pleaded
guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon and was given a minimum four
year sentence. Duane Edwards, who pleaded to a number of offences
including conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life,
will be sentenced in July.
ic Coventry,
24 May 2007
A masked gunman demanded
cash from a shopkeeper in Atherstone and made off with about £100
from the till. The robber brandished a small black handgun.
BBC,
24 May 2007
Students and staff were
evacuated from a secondary school in Newbury, Berkshire, after
reports that a group of youths were heading into nearby woods with what
was thought to be a firearm.
BBC,
24 May 2007
A woman with a gun
barricaded herself into a house in Havant, Hampshire, before it
was set on fire. No one was injured but the house was
"substantially damaged". A woman was arrested.
BBC,
24 May 2007
Armed police arrested eight
people in two separate raids in North East England. One arrest was
made in Wallsend after a man allegedly made threats to kill.
Another man was arrested at a house in Bedlington after reports
that a
man had brandished a gun. Six others were held on suspicion of
assisting an offender. A BB gun
was recovered from the Bedlington house.
North-West Evening Mail,
23 May 2007
Vandals have caused hundreds
of pounds worth of damage in a street in Grange, Cumbria.
The attackers used either an airgun
or BB gun to smash windows at a
number of houses and flats.
BBC,
23 May 2007
A handgun was among items
seized by police when they raided seven homes in the Beeston, Belle Isle
and Wortley areas of Leeds. Five men and two women were
arrested over a credit card fraud.
BBC,
23 May 2007
Three
air pistols and an
air rifle were found when police raided
four addresses in Portishead, Somerset, and seized cash, a large quantity of
methadone, two hydroponic sets and a small quantity of cocaine.
Four men were arrested.
Argus (Brighton),
23 May 2007
Armed police followed a man
after he was seen sitting in a car in Hove with a silver pistol
in his hand. Armed response teams tracked the car which was
stopped in Crawley. The pistol was revealed to be a
BB gun and the driver was given advice
about carrying it in public.
Weston & Somerset Mercury,
22 May 2007 *
A man who lay in wait armed
with an air rifle for his father and
stepmother to return home in Weston in March 2007 pleaded guilty
to charges of grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily
harm, assault by beating and two charges of criminal damage. The
gun belonged to Christopher Wall's father and was later found in a
neighbour's garden. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years (Weston
& Somerset Mercury, 10 September 2007).
Sun,
22 May 2007
A pensioner was carjacked at
gunpoint outside a church in Rushmere St Andrew, Suffolk. A
man put a pistol to her head, ordered her out of the car and drove off.
The car was found six miles away with an airgun
inside. A man has been arrested.
BBC,
22 May 2007
Two cars have had their
windscreens smashed in Flimby, Cumbria, by what are believed to
have been shots from an air rifle.
The incidents took place a week apart.
BBC,
22 May 2007
A man demanded money from a
woman working in a travel agency in Northampton whilst
threatening her with a gun. He escaped with cash. A man
later questioned in connection with the raid was released without
charge.
This is Lancashire,
21 May 2007
Matthew Gillett, 20, pulled
sharply in front of another motorist as they drove along a road in
Southport. At traffic lights the other motorist got out to
remonstrate with Gillett who picked up an
airgun and gestured with it. Gillett pleaded guilty to
possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He was
sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and was
ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.
Dunstable Today,
21 May 2007
Teams of armed police
officers descended on a supermarket car park in Dunstable and seized
an air rifle from a van. A man
was detained under the Mental Health Act. The car park was closed
for an hour. The police said they were concerned for the welfare
of the man in the van.
BBC,
21 May 2007
Anthony Gurney pleaded
guilty to GBH, robbery and possessing a firearm after a raid in which a
shopkeeper in Portslade, Sussex, was shot in the face in
September 2006 (see Incidents).
An attempted murder charge was ordered to lie on file. Stephen
Gurney and Henry Doyley both admitted robbery and possession of a
firearm. Charges of attempted murder and GBH were ordered to lie
on both men's files. The men will be sentenced in July.
BBC,
21 May 2007
Three men forced staff at a
shop in Breightmet, Greater Manchester, to open the till.
The gang were armed with a gun, knife and a bat and stole cash and
cigarettes before leaving as an alarm sounded.
BBC,
20 May 2007
Four youths have been
arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm following reports that
shots were fired at a house party in the Old Swan area of
Liverpool.
BBC,
20 May 2007
A handgun was found at a
garage in Holloway, north London, after reports that shots were
fired in a street. There were no reports of anyone being injured
in the shooting.
Yorkshire Post,
19 May 2007
Armed officers from West
Yorkshire Police arrested two teenage women in a supermarket car park in
Brighouse after an off duty police officer from Greater
Manchester Police spotted the women and reported them for threatening
motorists when one of them pointed a gun at lorry drivers whilst driving
on the M62. The weapon was a toy gun
and the two women, both dressed in Wild West costumes, were returning
from a party. The police said they had a duty of care to the
public and to their officers to take firm action and that meant
responding with armed officers. The women were released a few
hours later after one of them had been cautioned.
Sunderland Echo,
19 May 2007
Following the arrest of two
men and the discovery of cocaine in a car stopped by police near
Houghton, County Durham, detectives in Derbyshire searched a
house where they found a gun and cannabis.
BBC,
19 May 2007
Two
replica guns were stolen in a burglary
in Beaumont Leys, Leicester. One of the guns looks like a
Colt 45 handgun in a holster and the other is a black starting pistol.
The police have warned that they are very realistic and could easily be
mistaken for the real thing.
ic SouthLondon,
18 May 2007
A 13-year-old schoolboy was
allowed to purchase a frighteningly realistic
Colt pistol replica for £40 from a shop in Caterham.
The test purchaser was sent by the local newspaper The Caterham
Advertiser. The purchase took only three minutes, and the only
safety advice given to the boy was not to shoot his friends in the face
with it. Surrey Police have warned that youngsters brandishing
these deadly-looking weapons are at risk of being shot. Their
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Rowley believes shops need to act more
responsibly and recognise their moral responsibility to cease the sale
of realistic looking BB guns. He hopes the Violent Crime Reduction
Act (2006) will become law this autumn.
BBC,
18 May 2007
Two men armed with a shotgun
threatened a man and his family at a house in Wyken, Coventry,
before stealing their car.
BBC,
18 May 2007
Shots were fired from an
imitation gun at a car in Boston, Lincolnshire. Pellets,
believed to have come from a BB gun,
were fired by one of two youths, aged between 16 and 18. One of
the pellets hit the car's windscreen but did not cause any damage.
Wirral Globe,
17 May 2007
Police are warning of the
dangers of imitation firearms after finding a cache of weapons at a
house in Leasowe. Thirteen weapons including
ball-bearing guns and a sword were
seized when police searched an address following reports of an alleged
assault. Four youths were arrested, three of whom (a 14-year-old
girl and two boys, aged 13 and 14) were bailed pending further
inquiries. Police say they "were delighted to have seized the
weapons and potentially prevented them being used on the streets".
Southern Daily Echo,
17 May 2007
A gunman attempted to rob a
shop in Southampton city centre. The man walked into the
shop and revealed a small handgun to one of the cashiers who pressed the
panic alarm. The man left the premises empty-handed and fled the
scene.
ic Coventry,
17 May 2007
A newsagent in Atherstone,
Warwickshire, was forced to hand over the contents of the till by a
masked gunman. The robber produced a black handgun and threatened
the shopkeeper before escaping with cash.
AOL News,
16 May 2007
A man has died after being
shot by police in Ealing, west London. Scotland Yard said
the man died in an "intelligence led" operation conducted by officers
from Operation Trident. No police officers were injured in the
incident which is being referred to the Independent Police Complaints
Commission. Scotland Yard has said that police were investigating
alleged illegal firearm transactions and that a loaded weapon was found
with the man (BBC, 16 May 2007).
Mirror,
15 May 2007
Nicola Vickers pulled an
airgun on a homeowner in a dispute over parking outside the man's house
in Trowell, Nottinghamshire, in September 2006. She tapped
the weapon, which belonged to her son, on the steering wheel when she
was asked to move her car from across his driveway. She was jailed
for 18 months after admitting possessing an
imitation firearm.
ic SurreyOnline,
15 May 2007
After a spate of gun attacks
in Tandridge and neighbouring areas, police are introducing a
service to dispose of BB and replica guns. Car windows were
smashed and extensive damage caused to car panels and interiors by
ball bearing guns in Godstone
village in April. Also last month, a police helicopter was sent
after a teenager was seen with a handgun in Redhill town centre.
When the helicopter arrived the youth pointed the gun towards the sky.
After armed officers confronted the boy who dropped the gun, a
BB gun, and ran away. He was
caught later. He has been charged with possession of an imitation
firearm with intent to cause fear or distress.
Hunts Post,
15 May 2007
An elderly woman was shot in
the face with a BB gun as she was
walking along a road in Huntingdon. As a result of the hit
she fell to the ground, knocking her face and smashing her spectacles.
The woman went to hospital for treatment. Medical staff noticed a
bullet-type wound to her upper lip. Police have spoken to a
9-year-old boy in connection with the incident.
BBC,
15 May 2007
A cashier at a petrol
station in Warmington, Northamptonshire, was threatened by a man
who produced a firearm. The man escaped with an undisclosed amount
of money.
Sun,
14 May 2007
Armed police swooped on a
home in Dukinfield, Manchester, after believing an armed crook
was standing in the living room window. The figure turned out to
be 6ft statue of Lara Croft, the gun-toting star of Tomb Raider, but the
home owner was arrested and taken for questioning. A police
spokesman said "An officer can never take things at face value".
Northern Echo,
12 May 2007
Dale Calow, who has been
jailed for two years for drug dealing, had a
ball-bearing gun at his house in Darlington when
police raided the property.
BBC,
12 May 2007
A man was shot in the back
while sitting in a car in Moseley, Birmingham. Shots were
fired from another car. The victim was taken to hospital for
treatment but his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening and he
has since left.
BBC,
12 May 2007
A man has appeared in court
charged with the murder of a man who was shot in the head in
Chislehurst, south-east London, in March 2006. The victim was
shot once and died instantly.
Rugby Advertiser,
11 May 2007
Three men attacked a
pedestrian as he walked home in Brownsover. The men
threatened the victim with a gun, pushed him to the floor and stole £50.
The man blacked out and woke up near a phone box.
Guardian,
11 May 2007 *
Two men are on trial, one
accused of attempted murder, robbery and possession of a firearm, the
other of robbery and of being the robber's getaway driver, following a
robbery at a jewellers in Horsham, West Sussex, in September 2005
(see Incidents).
The jeweller was shot in the chest but escaped injury as the bullet was
deflected by a mobile phone in his top pocket. Sean Henry was
found guilty on all charges and has been jailed for 15 years.
Timothy Cole, the getaway driver, was convicted of robbery and jailed
for six years (BBC, 28 June 2007).
Evening Telegraph
(Northampton),
11 May 2007
After a review of the case,
a murderer who executed two men and used a car shredder to mutilate one
of the bodies has been told he must spend at least 25 years in prison.
Jamie Franklin gunned down the men at his scrapyard in Wellingborough
in October 2001 and was jailed for life in March 2003.
Bolton News,
11 May 2007
Paul Rathbone pointed a gun
at terrified cashiers working in a betting shop in Horwich in
April 2007 (see Incidents).
He escaped with £485 but was caught when his escape car broke down 250
miles away. Police in Basingstoke, Hampshire, linked the
number plates to the robbery and discovered a handgun inside the car.
Rathbone admitted robbery and possession of an
imitation firearm (an air pistol) and has been jailed for
five years.
BBC,
11 May 2007
A motorist was threatened
with an imitation gun as he drove
along the A47 at Trowse, Norfolk. The incident was seen by
an off duty police officer and firearms officers were deployed.
Another driver was arrested and released on bail pending further
inquiries.
BBC,
11 May 2007
A man arrested for travel
fraud near London Bridge was found to be carrying a loaded gun.
A search of the man's bag revealed a stun gun and a later search of his
house unearthed a third gun. The special constable who found the
gun during the arrest in March 2007 was Conservative MP David Davies.
BBC,
11 May 2007
Two
replica guns were seized in Caterham
by Surrey Police after a tip-off. Two boys, aged 11 and 13, were
reprimanded for carrying a replica 9mm Beretta, a replica Glock 23 and
ammunition.
BBC,
10 May 2007
Armed police officers were
called to Birmingham New Street station after reports that a
passenger was travelling on a train from Bristol with a gun. A man
was arrested but no firearm was recovered. It is understood that
the incident was domestic-related.
BBC,
10 May 2007
Another fast food outlet in
Portsmouth has been held up by a man with a gun. The robber
forced staff to hand over cash, including a large sum in change.
BBC,
9 May 2007
A man, aged between 18 and
20, was seen firing a handgun in a street in the Handsworth area
of Birmingham. Police cordoned off nearby roads. There were
no reports of any injuries. Police are concerned at a sudden
upsurge in shootings directly linked to the city's gangs in the past
month (BBC, 18 May 2007).
Sunderland Echo,
9 May 2007
A house in Penshaw was
besieged by armed police after a spate of air
weapon shootings. Three men, aged 19 and 21, were
arrested. Neighbours reported seeing a car driving around the
Penshaw and Washington areas with pellets being fired from
the window. One victim received minor injuries when he was shot in
the back as he walked with a friend along a street in Washington.
Later another man received a deep injury to this arm after a pellet was
fired from a moving car in Penshaw.
Manchester Evening News,
9 May 2007
At least two drivers reported
that their vehicles had been hit after a youth with an
air weapon took pot shots at passing cars
on Princess Parkway, Manchester. After the first incident in
Chorlton the driver spotted two youths, aged 16 to 18, near the road
and after stopping saw that one of them was brandishing a weapon. In
the second incident a shot was fired at a car in Whalley Range.
A youth was seen pointing at the car.
Express & Star,
9 May 2007
Three 12-year-old boys who
were arrested after 17 children were shot at with
BB guns while they played at a
Rugeley primary school in March 2007 (see
Incidents) have been given final
warnings. No action will be taken against a fourth boy who was
also arrested on suspicion of assault. Final warnings mean the
boys will be referred to a youth offending team and they will have to
disclose the fact they have been given the warnings for the next five
years.
BBC,
9 May 2007
Shots were fired at two cars
in Halesowen, West Midlands.
Reading Evening Post,
8 May 2007
Armed robbers fled with
thousands of pounds after a raid on a pub in Playhatch. The
gang, believed to be three men, were armed with a gun and a knife.
They threatened the owner and demanded money.
BBC,
8 May 2007
Shots were fired at two
unarmed police officers in Birmingham city centre when they got
into a struggle with two men who were acting suspiciously. A man
in his 20s has been arrested and a firearm has been recovered from the
area. The officers suffered minor injuries in the struggle but not
as a result of the firearm going off.
BBC,
8 May 2007
Police investigating mobile
phone footage of a group brandishing guns have recovered an
imitation firearm after a series of
raids in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Two teenage boys
appeared in court following the recovery of the fake MP5 firearm.
BBC,
8 May 2007
A licensed Remmington
Firebolt action rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition were in the boot of a
car stolen from outside a house in Urmston, Greater Manchester.
Detectives believe the car thief was unaware that the firearm was in the
boot.
BBC,
8 May 2007
Ian McLeod and Constance
Howarth must serve a minimum of 21 years and 20 years after planning a
contract killing. They were convicted following the fatal shooting
of two men at a pub in Salford in March 2006 (see
Incidents). The two victims, Richard Austin and Carlton
Alveranga, had been attempting to carry out a gangland hit at the pub
but the pair were disarmed by some of the pub's customers and shot with
their own weapons and died of their wounds. Their intended target
was shot in the face and chest but escaped serious injury.
BBC,
8 May 2007
Dean Durbin, 19, was
sentenced to three years at a young offenders institute for possessing
an air rifle that was fired in the
face of a 16-year-old girl in an incident in Paulton, Somerset,
in December 2006 (see
Incidents). Durbin said that the shooting occurred
after he had threatened to kill himself, and that following a scuffle a
gunshot was fired and the victim was left "grey and lifeless". The
girl is still ill in hospital.
BBC,
7 May 2007
A man was arrested after a
shooting incident at a house in Kettering. Gun shots had
been heard but the house was empty and no-one had been hurt. Armed
police later searched a house in Barton Seagrave and recovered a
number of items. The man was arrested in a nearby road and is
being questioned about firearms offences. Police described it as
an isolated incident.
Basingstoke Gazette,
7 May 2007
There were reports of a series
of gunshots being heard in the Upper Shirley neighbourhood in
Southampton. Police cordoned of the area and firearms officers found
a bullet, but it is believed that the person responsible for firing the
gun may have driven off afterwards.
BBC,
7 May 2007
A quantity of handguns and
ammunition was recovered by police after a raid on a property in
Stretford, Greater Manchester. Five men have been arrested on
suspicion of possession of firearms and drugs offences.
BBC,
6 May 2007 *
A policeman was killed when
officers attended a domestic incident at a property in a suburban street
in Shrewsbury. The officers were confronted by a man with a
firearm and a constable was shot. He was pronounced dead in
hospital. A man was later found dead and a firearm recovered.
The gun was a .222 calibre rifle, commonly used in pest control.
Both victims died from a single gunshot wound (BBC, 7 May 2007).
An inquest covering both deaths concluded that the officer was unlawfully
killed and that the perpetrator then committed suicide (see
December 2007 Incidents).
BBC,
6 May 2007
A 14-year-old was shot in the
leg as he ran away from gunfire outside a club in Moss Side,
Manchester. He was hit in the shin and suffered minor injuries.
He has been discharged from hospital.
BBC,
6 May 2007
Two guns used in Wild West
re-enactments have been stolen from a house in Meriden, West
Midlands. A black 8mm automatic blank firer
and a black .22 over and under Derringer gun were taken. Police fear
that if real bullets are fired from the guns they may explode. The
guns were stolen by three men pretending to be from the water board.
BBC,
5 May 2007
A 13-year-old boy has had a
"formal reprimand" from police after being found with an imitation gun, a
silver imitation handgun, in Woking.
A campaign by Surrey Police in under way to warn people that replica guns
can put them in the firing line of police (see
Police Campaigns).
Bucks Free Press,
4 May 2007
Police found a 12-gauge
sawn-off shotgun hidden under a bed of a room in Marlow rented by
Simon Colloton. There was also a shoe box containing six cartridges.
It was claimed that Colloton had not intended to use the gun and made a
"stupid" impulse buy. He pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and
has been jailed for four years. The gun was forfeited.
BBC,
4 May 2007 *
A man has been shot dead after
being chased through a block of flats in Catford, south east
London. He was rushing back to a friend's flat pursued by two men.
Inside the premises, one of the attackers fired two shots through a door,
fatally wounding him. A firearm was discarded by the assailants as
they escaped. Three men have been convicted of murder and jailed for
life (see May 2008 Incidents).
BBC,
4 May 2007
Four masked men burst into a
slaughterhouse in Highgate, Birmingham, fired shots into the air
and escaped with thousands of pounds. The brandished a firearm and a
knife. Some of the workforce were hit by debris from the ceiling
when the shots were fired.
Manchester Evening News,
3 May 2007
Education Secretary Alan
Johnson was on a train which was hit with an air
rifle shot as it travelled through Cheadle Hulme.
Toughened glass is thought to have stopped the pellet which was fired at
his carriage. The outer skin of the double-glazed panel on the window
was pierced by the pellet. No trace of the gunman was found.
BBC,
3 May 2007
A 15-year-old boy has been
arrested after someone was reportedly seen with a handgun outside a school
in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. The boy has been released on
bail.
BBC,
3 May 2007
A 17-year-old has been charged
with causing grievous bodily harm with intent following the shooting of
two teenagers with a shotgun in Woodley, near Wokingham in
Berkshire. A woman has been charged with assisting an offender and
another woman was arrested and released on bail. One victim, aged
16, remains in hospital after suffering a gunshot wound in the leg, a
15-year-old received lesser injuries to his arm, leg and neck.
BBC,
3 May 2007
A 13-year-old held a
fake gun to a teacher's head during a
lesson at a school in Northampton. The boy walked up to the
teacher and pointed the 3in-long gun to her head during a maths class.
She only realised it was a toy when the boy handed over the gun after
being challenged by a teaching assistant. The boy has received a
warning from the police and he has been
excluded from the school. The gun has been destroyed.
BBC,
3 May 2007 *
Three men are on trial having
denied the murder of a man in St Osyth, Essex, in March 2006 (see
Incidents).
The victim was shot through a glass panel in the door of his house with a
sawn-off shotgun. Two other men have appeared in court after being
arrested in Spain. All five men will now face trial on the murder
charge at the same time (Gazette, 31 May 2007). David Taylor,
Peter Jones and Martin Valentine were convicted of murder and jailed for
life. Martin Brown, who gave evidence for the prosecution after
doing a deal under the 2005 Serious and Organised Crime Act, pleaded
guilty to a lesser charge of assisting an offender. He was sentenced
to six months in prison but was released immediately (BBC, 8
January 2008).
Press Association,
2 May 2007
A man has died after shooting
himself at a property in the centre of Lewes, Sussex. Police
have confirmed that they are not looking for anyone else in connection
with the incident.
BBC,
2 May 2007
A man was armed with an
imitation gun when he stole £24,000
from a security guard delivering cash to a service station in
Stafford in January 2006. Mark Buckley admitted robbing the
service station and was jailed for 15 years.
Sunderland Echo,
1 May 2007
A shotgun and dangerous drugs
have been seized by police from a flat in Monkwearmouth as part of
a crackdown on street crime in Sunderland. Two men have been charged
in connection with the raid.
Express & Star,
1 May 2007
Six men have appeared in court
following a fight between two armed gangs in the centre of
Wolverhampton in June 2006. Gunmen opened fire in the street
showing complete disregard for passers-by. It is claimed that a
mystery motorcyclist delivered two firearms to one of the gangs. The
men deny more than a dozen charges relating to violence and firearms.
The trial continues.
BBC,
1 May 2007
A man was arrested at a house
in Rugby when police executed a firearms search warrant. A
sawn-off shotgun and the butt of a double-barrelled shotgun were recovered
along with ammunition and three air rifles. The man was being
questioned on suspicion of possession of an illegal firearm and possession
of a shotgun without a legal certificate.
BBC,
1 May 2007
A teenager threatened a
mother, her child and a 72-year-old woman with a gun. The boy, who
was on a bike, threatened to shoot the mother with a black handgun as she
walked in Peel Hall, south Manchester. Later the same day at
Woodhouse Park a boy twice demanded the pensioner's purse.
Greater Manchester Police have linked the two incidents.
BBC,
1 May 2007
Two teenagers were arrested
after passengers on a bus travelling from Keynsham to Bristol reported
seeing two boys with a gun. The bus was stopped in the
Brislington area and two boys, aged 14 and 16, were arrested. An
imitation firearm was seized.
SCOTLAND
Scotsman,
31 May 2007
David Kennedy has admitted
robbing a shop in Rhu, Dunbartonshire, in February 2007 (see
Incidents).
He was armed with a handgun which was later discovered to be an
air pistol. After fleeing with
£80 he joined the pursuit for the robber saying he had been driving by
and had seen the chase. He will be sentenced next month.
Daily Record,
29 May 2007
A pensioner was left
cowering in terror when she was attacked with an
airgun as she lay in bed in her home in
Paisley. The weapon was fired through her windows four
times. She was left traumatised by the incident. A police
spokesman called it "a very serious incident" and urged witnesses to
come forward.
BBC,
26 May 2007
Staff at a bookmakers in
Dennistoun, Glasgow, were threatened with what appeared to be a
firearm and forced to hand over a three-figure sum of cash to a man who
escaped on a bicycle.
Scotsman,
23 May 2007
A man has been arrested for
the murder of a waiter in a restaurant in Kirkwall, Orkney, in
June 1994. The victim was shot in front of 14 customers and died
of a single shot to the head from a 9mm pistol. Three years later
a policeman, Edmund Ross, was jailed for four years for a cover up
during the investigation. Ross had been given the task of
test-firing all 9mm weapons on the island and had concluded that none of
the weapons was capable of firing the fatal bullet, nor could he find
the same type of ammunition anywhere on the island. However, his
trial was told that he had two boxes of 9mm bullets bearing similar
batch numbers to the one recovered from the murder scene and he hid the
shells to protect his son, Michael. Michael Ross, who was 15 at
the time, has now been charged with the murder (BBC, 23 May 2007)
and is on trial (see May 2008
Incidents).
Herald,
23 May 2007
A nine-year-old boy has
undergone an operation to remove a pellet from his leg after he was shot
with an airgun. He was playing
in a garden in Drumchapel, Glasgow, when he saw a bird struck by
a pellet. The gun was fired again and the boy was struck in the
leg.
BBC,
17 May 2007
George Horsburgh, a Wild
West enthusiast, fired a shot at police called to a disturbance at his
home in Hume, near Kelso, in July 2006. Police, including
two armed response units, were sent to the scene where Horsburgh
appeared with what looked like a long-barrelled rifle which he failed to
put down when requested. A shot then rang out. Horsburgh
claimed his intention had been to shoot the tyres on the police cars.
He admitted discharging an airgun
pellet towards a police officer. He told police he "just flipped"
after a fall-out with his wife over his drinking. His property had
an outbuilding kitted out like a Wild West set housing
replica guns, and he also pleaded
guilty to two charges of possessing prohibited weapons. Horsburgh
was jailed for five years for possession of two illegal handguns,
modified replicas of a Colt 45 and a Colt Dragoon, which he used to pop
balloons in competitions, and four years for shooting towards the police
(Scotsman, 16 June 2007).
BBC,
15 May 2007
A security van driver was
threatened with a gun and abducted by two men who stole the van when it
was parked in East Whitburn, West Lothian. One of the
attackers pointed a handgun at the driver. They dumped the van in
a lay-by on the A71 at Muldron Forest and got away with an
undisclosed sum of money believed to be thousands of pounds. The
driver, who had been bundled into the back of the van, was unhurt and
managed to free himself before alerting the police. The police
have spoken to almost 500 people and have set up road checks where the
van was taken from (BBC, 22 May 2007).
BBC,
10 May 2007 *
A man was shot dead on a
busy road in Cardonald, Glasgow. A shot was fired and as
the victim tried to flee he was shot in the head and abdomen.
Police are investigating whether the shooting may have been a gangland
revenge killing (BBC, 11 May 2007). Two men have been
arrested in connection with the shooting (BBC, 26 November 2007).
One man has admitted murder (see
May 2008 Incidents).
BBC,
1 May 2007
Casimir Ali, 18, shot a
convicted burglar with an air rifle
believing he was trying to break into his flat in Maryhill,
Glasgow. The man was drunk and on drugs and Ali fired twice at him
to scare him off. One shot hit the man in the chest. He
admitted assaulting the man while under provocation and to a further
charge of possessing a knife. He has been given a 12 month custodial
sentence (Evening Times, 23 May 2007).
WALES
BBC,
29 May 2007
Two men have been arrested
after a police raid in which a large amount of class A drugs, cash and a
firearm were found at an address at Llanddeusant, Gwynedd.
South Wales Echo,
25 May 2007
Armed police in the centre
of Cardiff were searching for a man who pointed a handgun at
people and shouted "Bang! Bang!". He was drinking what looked like
a bottle of cider and staggered around the city centre. Although
many members of the public were convinced it was an
imitation gun, set procedures to deal
with firearm incidents had to be followed. One witness described
the incident as "very frightening".
INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS
The Argus (Brighton), 27 May 2007
Police are investigating after
two cats from the same Brighton street were shot and wounded by
air rifle pellets. One cat was found
bleeding from the neck, the other was found with a pellet embedded in the
neck. Two days later it was reported that a gunman had shot and
injured 10 cats with an air rifle in a half-mile area in Brighton (Mirror,
29 May 2007).
Rochdale Observer,
25 May 2007
A pet cat was used for
target practice in Rochdale. The owner saw two teenagers
firing and cans and warmed them to keep away from her pet, but minutes
later she found the cat cowering under her kitchen table covered in
blood. An airgun pellet was
embedded in one the cat's front legs and had to be removed by a vet.
This is Hampshire,
23 May 2007
A kitten is lucky to be
alive after an airgun attack left
him blind in one eye. The pet was found crying in pain with blood
pouring from his nose at his Eastleigh home. It is believed
he was shot in the head at close range.
BBC,
22 May 2007
A puppy has died after being
shot with a BB gun in her owner's
garden in Strood, Kent. The owner was indoors for a few
minutes and came out to find the puppy bleeding. She died the next
day after being taken to the vet.
Welwyn & Hatfield Times,
22 May 2007
A cat was shot in the
stomach with a high-powered air rifle
in Welwyn Garden City. The cat pulled through, although
vets were unable to remove the metal pellet as it was too close to her
spine. The cat's owner believes that the person responsible has
shot five cats in the last couple of years.
BBC,
18 May 2007
Vets removed an
airgun pellet from the neck of a young
cat who was found injured in Curry Rival, Somerset. They
believe the cat was shot deliberately. The nature and location of
the wound suggested that it could not have been the result of a stray
pellet.
BBC,
1 May 2007
Police have appealed for
information after a buzzard was shot dead near St Cyrus in
Aberdeenshire. An X-ray showed four shotgun pellets in its body.
Buzzards are protected under law and offenders can be jailed for up to six
months or fined up to £5000.
